{"id":640,"date":"2012-09-09T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2012-09-09T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=640"},"modified":"2012-09-08T18:21:19","modified_gmt":"2012-09-09T01:21:19","slug":"a-new-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=640","title":{"rendered":"A New Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/new-beginnings.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-643\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/new-beginnings-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>We may reach points in our climb towards improving our health that find us looking at the end of a road and having to make some decisions as to the direction we are choosing to follow.\u00a0 We may be at a juncture, a point at which we must decide what we are prepared to do for ourselves to take us beyond this point.\u00a0 This can be an awesome realization and one that leaves us feeling overwhelmed.\u00a0 So what can we do to move forward with grace?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Acceptance<\/p>\n<p>A key element in any part of our lives is the willingness to accept that which is.\u00a0 Accept that where you stand is not where you were or where you are headed but simple is.\u00a0 It means letting go of any grievances or regrets and turning yourself towards the light of forgiveness.\u00a0 This does not mean we forget what has happened, nor does it mean that we don&#8217;t look forward to what we hope will come to us.\u00a0 It simply means to acknowledge the space in time that you find yourself in at this very moment.<\/p>\n<p>When we do so, we are allowing our body, mind and spirit to connect without interference from the endless conversations that sit in our minds eye and don&#8217;t allow us to see straight, the ones that keep us confused, second guessing and above all fearful.<\/p>\n<p>There is a prayer called the Serenity Prayer that I like to say especially at such times when I find myself standing at a crossroads.\u00a0 It is written as follows<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Grief<\/p>\n<p>When we find that we have accepted this place in our lives we may need to take some time to grieve over that which will no longer be, even if what is beginning is to our benefit, leaving the path we have been on can feel like a loss.\u00a0\u00a0This\u00a0&#8220;loss&#8221; can mean that we are honoring our true path and we are committing ourselves to what will truly serve us,\u00a0shedding that which no longer gains us strength and forward momentum.\u00a0 We are saying goodbye to\u00a0parts of ourselves, aspects to our being that\u00a0have taken us to this juncture in time and\u00a0will be left behind by our\u00a0new choice of living.\u00a0 We are acknowledging that we are ready to embark in a new direction.\u00a0 The past is over it can not bear weight on us any longer as we\u00a0can now\u00a0allow for this second to be a new birth.<\/p>\n<p>Embrace<\/p>\n<p>The willingness to take the steps in a new direction takes courage.\u00a0 It takes following your spirit within and asking none but ourselves for the ultimate guidance in pursuing our new path with grace.\u00a0 When we embrace the newness openly and with a spirit of welcoming all that may follow regardless of where it takes us, we are standing firmly at a point of center.\u00a0 We are saying to ourselves and to the universe at large that we are prepared with above all else faith and trust in our ability to find our way towards improving our well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Consider these ideas and share your thoughts on new beginnings and what has helped you to transition forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We may reach points in our climb towards improving our health that find us looking at the end of a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":646,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions\/646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}